What factors have led to this high estimation of Indian art?

According to Jogen Chowdhury of Santiniketan gharana, "The USP of Indian paintings lie in its approach. In an interview to Yajnaseni Chakraborty, published in Business Standard, Chowdhury had said, "To be global you do not have to do something that is imitative of America, Australia or England. It has to have an authenticity, which is not what blind imitation allows for."

It is this originality, finesse and sensitivity that lend Indian art works an edge over the others, said Chowdhury. "As a result, nowadays, a collector doesn't think twice before parting with Rs 92 lakh (Rs 9.2 million) for an S H Raza masterpiece."

Chowdhury's own creations too can easily be sold for anything between Rs 850,000 and 50 lakh (Rs 5 million).

Thanks to this astrtonomical rise in prices of Indian art these days, youngsters interested in art are bent on transforming their passion into a well-paying profession, adds Chowdhury.

"This definitely is a welcome change and will go a long way in rewriting the history of Indian art."
Image: Indian workers give last minute touches before the opening of a press preview for Christie's Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art collection in New Delhi.